Stirling Properties Opens First Walgreens

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

New Orleans just got a new drugstore. Stirling Properties announced the grand opening of a full-service Walgreens drugstore on Magazine Street. The Crescent City also managed to repurpose a building with a lot of patriotic history.

The 13,000-square-foot marquee store at 5518 Magazine St., portions of which date back to 1947, used to be the Ed Brauner American Legion Post #307. In homage to its history, the property’s interior design incorporates symbols and images connected to the American Legion.

To redevelop the property in a manner appealing to all, Stirling’s design team met repeatedly with area residents, local retailers and city officials. After achieving a consensus, it replaced both the front and rear facades of the property and fully gutted the interior. It installed new, large windows to showcase the renovated interior and allow for more natural light, as well as a new pedestrian access on Magazine Street designed to encourage foot traffic and walk-in customers. It also added a rear parking lot.

The repurposed building will encompass a full-service pharmacy, drive-through window and high-end cosmetics boutique.

“This adaptive-reuse project represents a true cooperative effort between Stirling Properties, Walgreens, the city of New Orleans, local retailers and surrounding neighborhoods. Without public input and citizen participation, we could never have achieved this level of success. We are proud to bring a once distressed but historically significant property back to prominence once again,” declared Stirling Properties Vice President of Development Peter Aamodt.

Stirling Properties will soon start work on a second Walgreens location in New Orleans’ Westbank, in the neighborhood of Terrytown. Set to break ground in April, the project relocates an existing Walgreens store. The new, 17,384-square-foot location is expected to open in the third quarter. Stirling is also currently developing a Walgreens property in Gulf Port, Miss., making the full-service commercial real estate company Walgreens’ preferred development partner in the Gulf South.